fbhjr

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution, Part 9: Cooking, Part 10: Coping Skills, Part 11: Gardening, Part 12: Relationship Skills, Part 13: Repairing, Part 14: Survival Skills, Part 15: Archaeology, Part 16: Biology.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 17: Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of studying matter, particularly how different substances interact with each other. Its subfields include astrochemistry, biochemistry, environmental chemistry, and geochemistry among others. At home, kitchen chemistry is both amusing and useful. Aspects of chemistry include history, famous people, and famous discoveries. Here on Dreamwidth, check out

common_nature,

environment,

naturaldyes,

science, and

scienceworld.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Economics
Birdfeeding
Artificial Intelligence
Poem: "How Great You Really Are"
Space Exploration
Birdfeeding
Books
Climate Change
Books
Philosophical Questions: World
Poem: "Restoring Them to Their Former Glory"
Buffalo
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 5-8-26: Muse
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Moment of Silence: Ted Turner
Low Tech
Community Thursdays
Space Exploration
Birdfeeding

Poem: "Walnut Park" has 46 comments. Early Humans has 22 comments. Philosophical Questions: Pregnancy has 80 comments. Safety has 83 comments.

Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I am still writing.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth is running April 25-May 15. People aim to make a new post each day, or participate in various activities to celebrate the platform.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Introduction to Becoming an Expert
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Architecture
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Dance
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Music
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Painting
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Poetry
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Sculpture
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Conflict Resolution
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Cooking
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Coping Skills
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Gardening
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Relationship Skills
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Repairing
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Survival Skills
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Anthropology
Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Biology

"The Worst Thing in Life" opened and closed within a few days. Quain tries calling his friends to talk about recent accomplishments, but the only person willing to talk with him is someone he hasn't contacted in a couple of years.

"No Faster or Firmer Friendships" has 50 new verses. It belongs to Polychrome Heroics and needs $35 to be complete. Josué reads a funny poem to Maria-Vera.

The weather has been variable here. We got some rain the other day. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a pair of cardinals, a male and a female rose-breasted grosbeak separately, a male Baltimore oriole, a brown thrasher, a blue jay, a gray catbird, and a fox squirrel. Currently blooming: pansies, violas, sweet alyssum, alliums, marigolds, honeysuckle, snapdragons, lantana, million bells, blue lobelia, petunias, portulaca, nemesia, wild chives, wood hyacinths, columbine, peonies, irises, mock orange. Green fruit: mulberries, raspberries.

Current Mood: busy

days_unfolding

I ordered some summer pajamas for my trip. It’s kind of cute: purple with stars on it. I need to check on my electric razor too.

Gracie woke me up at 7:30 AM. The dogs are wrestling. Napped. Wow, my stomach is upset. I’ll eat and see how I feel. I texted in sick and am going to lie down. Oliver is burrowing and Lily is pouncing on him. A quiet day at home.

My stomach still hurts. Not sure what to do. I need to mow. Ate dinner and it seems to be helping a little.

My dad said that he hasn’t been feeling well because he’s not sleeping well. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go visit him. Found my travel razor. Napped.

Oliver was cuddling with me for both naps. Aww. Woke up at 7:30 PM. The cats want to be fed. Fed them, and Oliver didn’t finish his food. Got the dogs in and fed them. I’m not going to make it to the local grocery store because I need to take a shower. I’ll go to Meijer. Hmm, now I’m thinking of going to sleep and getting up early.

fauxklore

I had intended to get some catching up done over the past few days, but had underestimated how many other things I had to do. And I'm about to head halfway around the world tomorrow, so I suspect I won't get anything more done tomorrow.

I intended to do some catching up here, but I also had to do things like unpacking and opening mail and a bunch of household nonsense, etc. So here is a list of what I have yet to write about:

1) my 50th high school reunion

2) the trip I just got home from which included:
a) the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey)
b) London
c) the Fforde Ffiesta in Swindon
d) Brighton
e) back to London
f) a bit of a rant about hotels

3) the trip I am about to leave on (which will most likely take 3 posts to write about).

4) my contining efforts on the Stafford Challenge

5) a lot of magazine clippings that have piled up on my dining room table, my sofa, and other radom places in my condo

6) probably a locked entry about the world's longest running brief meaningless fling

ysabetwordsmith

When School Taught Me Basic Finance, Badly

The other day I wrote about the question Who should be teaching kids basic finance? Some point to schools and say schools should be teaching it; others point to parents and say it's their job. I noted that one difficulty with asking schools to do it is that they're already overloaded trying to cover basic academics. (And really the reason they're so overloaded on that is public school teachers end up spending, like, 90% of their time trying to manage behavior problems.) I also noted that schools seems ill equipped to teach it because, at least the one time a school I attended did try to teach basic finance, the whole lesson was basically a fail.

I would say that it's useful to teach basic finance BOTH at home and at school. That way if one skips or does a bad job, the other has a chance to pick up the slack.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny and mild.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, a blue jay, and a fox squirrel. :D Blue jays are fun.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I planted the pussy willow at the north edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I picked up sticks in the south lot, but only got as far as the birdgift tree. There were a LOT of sticks and they filled the trolley, which I dumped in the firepit. My partner Doug is out mowing a path around the prairie garden.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I trimmed grass around the small garden beside the maple tree. The burgundy iris is open and smells musky-sweet. :D

We walked around the newly mowed parts of the prairie garden path. Much raking to do before anything can be sown there, but the sowing needs to wait for a rain forecast anyhow.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen a gray catbird at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I dug a hole for planting in the west hedge of the savanna.

I've seen a male rose-breasted grosbeak in the forest garden.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I planted the sandbar willow in the west hedge.

My partner Doug re-mowed the south lot.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I watered the recently planted things in the savanna.

I trimmed around the goddess garden. I still need to do a lot of work on that one: installing the goddess statue for the summer, digging out weeds, getting moss rose and thyme to plant.

EDIT 5/10/26 -- We burned off the firepit. \o/

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Generative AI vegetarianism

Hello, it’s me: I’m a generative AI vegetarian.

The tech industry is convinced this is the future; every app on my phone and most of the apps on my computer want me to use their new AI features.

I don’t want any of them. I want to write my own emails. I want to write my own (mediocre) software code. I want to learn and think and ponder with other humans, not with a text-prediction system built by consuming all the text on the internet.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

susandennis

I've been on Wegovy now for 16 weeks. I've lost about 15 pounds. In my personal, substantial girth, that ain't much. But yesterday I got a reality check. Bonny was sharing her hip replacement details - show and tell for a meeting of old people - and she said that she had gained 10 pounds of water with the surgery and was having trouble losing it. "None of my pants fit! I can't get my shirt buttoned! Ten pounds is a LOT of weight to gain!!"

hahahah ok so, I said to myself... if 10 is a lot to gain then 15 ain't chump change in the losing department. Go me! I only wear knit clothes that are either very loose or stretchy (or both) so my clothes fit pretty much the same way they always have pretty much. But, I do have a stretched out old swim suit that is very nearly now too baggy to wear. I have the straps tightened as much as they will go. I normally swim by myself so it's ok to wear for laps still.

This living room is a mess. I need to spend some time tidying it up before I do anything else today. I have cat food to put away, yarn to put away, the kitchen to clean up...

Then the baseball game which starts before lunch today.

I finished a book last night that Jo recommended - A Killing in November by Simon Mason. It was really really good. Great characters. It's a British author and a British reader. One of the characters was American and this reader has THE worst American accent ever but you were never confused about who it was when that character was speaking! It was still a great read and... it was #1 in the series of which there are already 4 and soon to be a 5th! happy happy.

I checked my library hold list and several are available soon - you are 1 of 3 waiting, you are 2 of 5 waiting, etc and then there's this one...

Martha recommended it yesterday and I just went to Libby and slapped a hold on to it without looking until this morning. It appears to be THE book to want! At least they have 300+ copies. I have plenty to read until then.

Ooops I just fell down a crochet pattern rabbit hole. Shit will never get done that way. So it's time to get off this computer.

ysabetwordsmith

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution, Part 9: Cooking, Part 10: Coping Skills, Part 11: Gardening, Part 12: Relationship Skills, Part 13: Repairing, Part 14: Survival Skills, Part 15: Archaeology.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 16: Biology

Biology is the science of studying life. Its two main subfields are botany (studying plants) and zoology (studying animals) but there are other branches such as evolutionary biology, genetics, mycology (studying fungi), paleozoology (studying extinct animals), and so forth. Aspects include history, famous people, and regions. Different cultures have very different approaches to biology too. Here on Dreamwidth, check out

birdfeeding,

common_nature,

environment,

gardening,

naturaldyes,

petchat,

science, and

scienceworld.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Here are the notes for "How Great You Really Are."

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the May 5, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from my partner Doug,

lone_cat, and

see_also_friend. It also fills the "Family" square in my 5-1-26 card for the Greek Myth Fest. This poem has been posted in memory of Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Antimatter and Stalwart Stan thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

days_unfolding

Gracie got me up at 7 AM. Because I had problems falling asleep, that wasn’t nearly enough sleep. I let the dogs out. I called the dog boarding and made arrangements.

I have two cats in here to nap with me. Oliver is under the blanket and Lily is pouncing on him.

Had a nice nap. Fed the cats. Checked on the dogs, and they’re happy outside. Showered. Made an appointment for a pedicure next Saturday.

Hmm. The mower died way too fast. Does it need new batteries? Now I’m wondering what to do. I could try to put my low raised bed together, but I kind of like to mow there first. Oh, and I should put the sticker on the car (done). The low raised bed requires a mallet and a screwdriver, so I need to go look for them. Not found, so I ordered some.

Fed us all. Emailed my dad about the trip. I’m so tired right now.

susandennis

I swam, I did a load of laundry - wash, dry and put away - I went to elbow coffee (no new maladies but lengthy conversations about the only ones). I had a long conversation with Martha about amigurumi. Then I hopped into the car and drove up to the Other Safeway. It was fine but I like mine better. I did stop at Dollar Tree, again, for more amigurumi kits. I got one of all they had and 2 of some for Martha and others who might be interested. At a buck 25, it's just too good a deal.

Now I still have some chores but I thought I'd better get an entry done before the whole day got away from me.

The Mariners game is in two hours and I now have a massive number of yarn projects going on. Plus, I lost two of my good yarn needles in my yarn needle pin cushion - massive engineering failure there - and I need to find them. They are very narrow needles with very long eyes and I have no idea where I would buy more. I have 3 but two are currently housed in the pin cushion.

I'm really torn about watching Remarkably Bright Creatures - the movie. Just like I am about Project Hail Mary - the movie. I loved the books so much but cannot fathom how the octopus and space creature on screen could live up to the versions in my imagination. But the former is now live on Netflix and so decision time. Not today but...

I have a poke bowl for dinner - well half of it. It's a large bowl so the other half will be lunch tomorrow.

ysabetwordsmith

Surprise! Tiny world with an atmosphere in outer solar system

Astronomers in Japan have just discovered that the tiny world 2002 XV93, orbiting in the icy reaches beyond Neptune, does have a thin atmosphere. That’s despite the fact that this space rock is just some 310 miles (500 km) in diameter. That’s about 7 times smaller than our moon.

The researchers said on May 5, 2026, that they detected the atmosphere when the tiny world passed in front of a star. Using multiple telescopes, they saw that the light from the star gradually faded instead of just suddenly winking. That’s evidence for a thin atmosphere around 2002 XV93.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny and mild. It rained most of yesterday.

I fed the birds. I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches, a mourning dove, and a fox squirrel.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- We went out to run errands, which included a stop at Rural King for more bagged goods and a few flowers. Sadly they're moving away from the small sizes that I prefer; much of it was big pots and I'm not going spend $15-20 on something I could get elsewhere for $3-4, especially when most of my plantings are mixed. I only bought one big potted thing this season, and that was a pot with 4 different violas (purple-lavender, purple-white, purple-yellow, purple-orange) in it.

We also finished reading Super Smoothies.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted 4 celosia (3 pinkish-red and 1 yellow), a purple wave petunia, and a Bidens flower in the barrel garden. I hadn't seen the Bidens before but it is a yellow-and-orange flower similar to a marigold or coreopsis, so it fits well in the barrel garden. That's almost full -- I've got room to squeeze in a firecracker and maybe some marigolds but that's about it.

A petunia is blooming pale rosepetal pink under the maple tree, and an iris looks to be opening up sort of a chocolate color there too. I'm pleased that the peony has a strong scent; the dark pink one under the apricot tree is nearly scentless.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted 8 yellow marigolds in pots around the new picnic table.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I dug a whole for an oak seedling at the edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I planted a pin oak seedling at the edge of the savanna.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 5/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Bad Ass on a Budget is for Indie Filmmakers

Veteran stuntman and action filmmaker Eric Jacobus (God of War, Man Who Feels No Pain) delivers a tech-agnostic, philosophically grounded roadmap for zero-budget filmmakers to achieve high-impact action by mastering the “human universals” of physiology, psychology, and human relationships.

Badass on a Budget is a masterclass for the “Zero-Budget Action Filmmaker” (ZBAF) by veteran action designer Eric Jacobus, who draws on decades of experience from viral hits (Rope-A-Dope and Blindsided) to indie feature film production (Contour and Death Grip) to global franchises (God of War and Mortal Kombat). Rejecting gear-centric trends, Jacobus focuses on tech-agnostic “human universals”—physiology, psychology, and relationships—to provide a holistic framework for a high-impact “Action Ecosystem” where performance, choreography, camera, and editing work in perfect synergy.

Given the "human universals" I suspect this would work well for writers, artists, etc. who wish to choreograph effective fight scenes. Plus of course, a fun read for anyone who enjoys action flix and is fed up with the overuse of tech. I also like the creative, DIY angle; it reminds me of the book Hang the Cat from Terramagne, which I wish existed in local-Earth.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Climate change is forcing plants to move, but many have nowhere left to go

Plants survive within specific conditions. They depend on temperature, rainfall, and soil.

As climate changes, these conditions shift across geography. Suitable zones move toward the poles or climb to higher elevations.

Plants respond in three ways. They move, adapt, or disappear.

Movement sounds simple, but it is not. Seeds must travel. Landscapes must allow passage. New habitats must exist and support growth.

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

11 Reads Starring Queer Asian Americans for AAPI Heritage Month!

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! We’re here with 11 recommendations of books starring queer Asian American characters.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

What is the most uplifting thing happening in the world right now? What is the most tragic thing?

Most uplifting: The rise of crowdfunded ecological restoration. My favorites include Mossy Earth and Planet Wild. These places let you use your folding vote to push the planet's future toward a better trajectory.

Most tragic: Humanity as a whole is destroying the biosphere. They know why they need to stop. They know what the cost will be if they don't. They know how to fix what they've broken. They just damned well don't want to do it. >_<

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about reading as a way of becoming an expert in a given subject. Read Part 1: Introduction to Becoming an Expert, Part 2: Architecture, Part 3: Dance, Part 4: Music, Part 5: Painting, Part 6: Poetry, Part 7: Sculpture, Part 8: Conflict Resolution, Part 9: Cooking, Part 10: Coping Skills, Part 11: Gardening, Part 12: Relationship Skills, Part 13: Repairing, Part 14: Survival Skills.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth Part 15: Archaeology

Archaeology is the science of studying the past, primarily historic human cultures and their artifacts. It overlaps with anthropology, the study of (mostly current) human cultures; and with paleontology, the study of plants and animals from the past. Paleoanthropology is the study of human evolution in particular, one of the more fascinating aspects of the past. Aspects include famous people, famous finds, and important regions. Culture is a delicate issue here, as Europeans have spent centuries trampling over everyone else and often obliterating their past. But other cultures have their own scientists, who have made plenty of valuable contributions. Here on Dreamwidth, consider

archaeology,

first_nations_freaks,

history,

science, and

scienceworld.

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth April 25-May 15

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Current Mood: busy

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Reading

Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Chemistry

Monday Update 5-11-26

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Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: Biology

Notes for "How Great You Really Are"

Poem: "How Great You Really Are"

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